I realize the blog posts have been lacking as of late and I feel bad about that. Because I like it when people read my blog, and they tend to do that less (rightfully so) when I don't write as often. But perhaps more importantly because I like writing on my blog. I like having a funny or moving experience during the day and then transferring it to writing if I think people like might to read about it. I like the continuity of keeping it up. Recently, since the road trip, for various reasons - the holidays included - I haven't felt like it at all. Haven't felt like writing.

That changed last night though when I was running on the treadmill here at my parents' house in Virginia, where I'm staying this week before we head back to Connecticut after the weekend.

It was a typical New Year's. My brother and I threw our annual party and I honestly thought up to the last minute that it might actually be a low key affair this time around. But then people applauded when I poured the whole bottle of rum into my rum punch (rather than the meager two cups the recipe called for) and a bunch of 20 year olds showed up and before I knew it the rug had been rolled up and tossed aside and we were having a full scale dance party on the hardwood, then the entire, raucous group made it's way into the living room where we watched the ball drop, let out a huge hurrah and it was 2008. 2008! "Two-thousand GREAT!" some of my friends yelled and the party went on, and on.

Needless to say we were exhausted the next day, and after the majority of people had emerged from their sleeping bags and left, J, Max, my brother, his girlfriend and I headed out for badly needed food and coffee and then home to watch movies and, in my case, fall asleep on the couch at 9:30.

J needed to go back to New Haven the next day, to fill out some paperwork for his job and get some things in order, but I opted to stay here as we had to be back for a wedding this weekend anyway.

After dropping him off at the train station, I was alone for the first time in, like, weeks and weeks. I don't mean alone like when you take a shower, or run out to the store, but alone, as in, I finally had some time to myself. And I'm not even one of those types who likes to be alone a lot, but maybe it was exactly what I needed.

I did some things you don't tend to do when you're considering another person's feelings or schedule. I shopped for shampoo for a really, really long time. I talked on my cell phone, loudly, the entire drive home. I didn't shower all day and decided to go run on the treadmill, you know - start the new year off right with some exercise - before dinner because, hey, I didn't have anything else to do.

We've had a less than ideal past month or so that's involved a lot of stress and hours of driving and feeling tired, all while living in J's old bedroom in his parents house with our clothes stacked up on the floor because we're storing our belongings there until we find a house of our own. The amazing thing is that, despite all that, we've still, somehow, been having a lot of fun, and the situation has reminded me how happy I am to be a part of the McDonough family, how happy I've always been to be a part of the family I grew up in, and how lucky I am to be with my husband. Because everything is funnier and more meaningful and easier to take when we're together.

Anyway, to get to the point, which I bet you really want me to do, I was thinking about all that as I ran on the treadmill, and perhaps it was the exercise I so badly needed or maybe it was the fact that I'd gotten a good night of sleep the night before but I felt really good, ready to get back into doing all the things I like to do, and ended up running for far longer than I'd originally planned. Then "Africa" by Toto came on the classic rock station I'd turned up way loud on the radio and I actually put my hands up in the air in triumph or excitement or whatever. Just a crazy person, running on a treadmill, pumping her fists like Rocky or something. 2008, damnit! Two-thousand GREAT.